The influence of Information Technology service management training on the quality of helpdesk service: the case of Safaricom

Abstract

The quality of employees and their development through training and education are major factors in determining long-term profitability of a business. Training often is considered for new employees but this should not be the case because ongoing training for current employees helps them to adjust to rapidly changing job requirements. IT service management is a discipline for managing information technology systems, centered on the customer's perspective of IT's contribution to the business. ITSM stands in deliberate contrast to technology-centered approaches to IT management and business interaction. In this research, the researcher investigated the extent to which training in ITSM influences the quality of service of the helpdesk as the main objective.

The dependent variable of the research was IT helpdesk quality of service while the independent variables were duration of training, content of training and the training methodology. The key indicators of the dependent variable were: availability of the helpdesk service, response time taken to respond to incidents and the reliability of the service. The researcher collected data from the entire target population which included all staff within the helpdesk section of the IT department. Both qualitative and quantitative (mixed mode) research approaches were used. The data collection methods used were questionnaires and interview guides were used to collect data which was then coded and analyzed and presented in frequency tables and percentages.

Document analysis was carried out to assess the dependent variable and the researcher found out that there was an improvement in the quality of IT helpdesk service in availability, reliability and the average time spent by the personnel to resolve incidents. From the research findings, the researcher found out that ITSM training influences the quality of IT helpdesk service. Thus the researcher concluded that the content of ITSM training, the frequency of ITSM training and the ITSM training methodology influence the quality of the IT helpdesk service. The researcher recommends that since there is an influence of the ISM training to the quality of helpdesk service, more training should be carried out on a regular basis and that a lot of awareness of this training should be carried out to all IT professionals so that they can all go through it.